French Open 2023: Iga Swiatek back in Roland-Garros final after fending off brave Beatriz Haddad Maia

Iga Swiatek will defend her French Open title in the final of this year’s competition following a hard-fought 6-2 7-6(7) semi-final win over Beatriz Haddad Maia.

The Polish star will face Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s showpiece match as she looks to win the title for a third time.

Having been broken in the opening game of the match, Swiatek powered her way back to take the first set in dominant fashion.

A rocky spell at the start of the second set saw her a break down after a spirited display from the Brazilian.

However, world No. 1 Swiatek again upped the gears to break back and hold off several break points before sealing the win in a tight tie-break.

Swiatek went into the last-four clash with four bagel sets to her name, but another was never on the cards as Haddad Maia put up stiff opposition.

Haddad Maia secured a break at the start of the match, but it did not take Swiatek long to find her stride as she hit back to take control of the set.

The Pole piled pressure on her Brazilian opponent, with crisp hitting from the baseline drawing errors from Haddad Maia.

The opening set was wrapped up in 39 minutes, with Swiatek highlighting her superiority with a series of punishing forehands down the line.

Swiatek left the court at the end of the opening set and returned with her focus a little off. She coughed up a double fault and offered a break point to her opponent, but the No. 1 seed headed it off to hold which she greeted with a loud roar of approval.

Haddad Maia refused to lie down and broke through in the third game.

Swiatek broke back in game six, and fended off a break point in the seventh game. The 22-year-old had a huge slice of luck when wrapping the game up thanks to a monster net cord.

Haddad Maia looked down in disappointment when the net cord went against her, but she shrugged it off to hold and then forced Swiatek to save three break points in the ninth game.

The second set went to a breaker, which was the first of the tournament for Swiatek.

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